Tobacco container



P 24, 1935. L. D. SPARKS ET AL 2,015,199

' TOBACCO CONTAINER Filed June 5, 1953 M fig Zhi? J blorneys WM MM/1m r LI/A'LZW Patented Sept." L I I PATE OFFICE- Our invention relates to containers or packages and particularly to tobacco containers.

Tins in which tobacco is ordinarily sold are bulky and inconvenient to carry in the pocket of an article of clothing and occupy the same amount of space irrespective of the portion of the original contents remaining therewithin. In filling a pipe the contained tobacco but instead the tobacco must be poured or otherwise conveyed from the tin to the pipe with resultant inconvenience and spillage. Also,-a prospectivepurchaser of such a tin of tobacco cannot see the color and texture of the tobacco containedtherein while the tin is closed.

An object of our invention is to provide a tobacco container of compact, envelope-like form capable of eificiently protecting its contents against dust andloss of moisture content and aifording a view of a portion of its contents.

Another objectis to provide such a container having an inner envelope or pouch for containing tobacco and an outer envelope or protective covering wherein opening or closing of the outer envelope acts to simultaneously open or close the inner envelope;

S ill another object is to provide such a container which, when closed, maintains the inner envelope thereof substantially sealed against entrance or exit of air and wherein such sealing is effective after repeated opening and closing.

A still further object is to provide such a container which may be easily and cheaply constructd, which isof convenient shape to be car- 3 ried in the pocket of an article of clothing, and

which is so arranged'that access to its contents.

may be readily had, as for filling a pipe, with relatively little danger of damaging the container.

Theseand other objects and advantages of the present invention will more fully appear from the following description, made in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts.

Fig. 5 is'a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2 as indicated by the arrows, 65 and v Fig. 6 is a view of the blank from which the outer-portion of the container is formed.

Referring to the drawing, the outer envelope or protective covering of. our tobacco container is constructed from a blank, such as shown in Fig.

6,'formedof non-transparent, comparatively flexible material such as cardboard, heavy cloth or from such a tin it is not possible to dip a pipe in the like. The blank includes a back l0, 2. 'front I I and a flap 12. A narrow strip I3 extends outwardly from the free edge of the back it). A 10 tongue I2aextends outwardly from the medial portion of the free edge of the flap i2. End'flaps l4, shaped as shown in Fig. 6, extend outwardly from the ends of the front H. A

.In assembling the outer envelope the blank is 5 folded along the line b to bring the back I 0 and the front ll adjacent each other in parallel relation. The blank is reversely folded along the line c to bring the protective strip 13 into parallel relation with the upper portion of the exterior 20 side of the back i 0 and thus form a rounded sealing edge at the line 0. The blank is reversely folded on the line :1 to bring the flap l2 into parallel'relation to the back it). A slit i5 is formed in the back it in proper location to receive the 25 tongue i2a of the flap l2 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. It will of course be understood that other securing means such as a snap button or other means may be employed in place of the combination comprising the tongue 52a. and the slit i5. 39 Each end flap it is folded on the lines '6, f, g and h, as best shown in Fig. 5, to adapt the same for bellows-like action. The outer end section i da of the end flap it is then attached to the inner side of the back ill by means of an adhesive or other suitable means.

, The connections between the corresponding ends of the front H and the back ID by means of the end flaps Mi obviously permit changing the distance between the front and back in accordm ance with the quantity of material contained in the container. 4

The front It is provided with a viewing aperhire "5 as shown in Figs. 1 and 6.

The inner envelope i I isa rectangular envelope of any desired form constructed of relatively thin flexible preferably transparent sheetmaterial.

The inner envelope I! is of suchdimensions and is so inserted in the interior of the outer envelope that its open edged portion will extend adjacent to the flap i2 a substantial distance above or outwardly of the sealing edge on the line 0 at the open upper end of the outer envelope. The medial portion of the front side of the open edged portion of the inner envelope I1 is secured to the flap I2 by adhesive means or other suitable means. It is to be noted that only the medial portion of the upper edge of the inner envelope I1 is secured to the flap I2 so as to permit opening the upper end of the inner envelope to a substantially oval shape for providing convenient access to the contents without danger of tearing the inner envelope.

The side edge portions of the inner envelope I! are disposed between the two centermost sections of the bellows-like end flaps I4 as shown in Fig. 5.

When the container is filled for use, tobacco, indicated at T, or other material, is placed within the inner envelope I1 and the flap I2 is bent or folded downwardly over the back ID of the outer envelope to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4. As the flap is folded downwardly the outwardly protruding open edged portion of the inner envelope I1 is of course carried therewith. The inner envelope is thus folded on a line adjacent the folded sealing edge at the upper end of the back portion ID to effect a substantially air tight closure of the inner envelope. The fold in the outer envelope at the line (where the strip I3 joins the back I0) provides a sufiiciently rounded sealing edge to protect the inner envelope H from being out along the line on which it is folded over the sealing edge. When the container is closed the tongue In on the flap I2 is inserted through the slit I5 in the back III of the outer envelope as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, to retain the flap I2 in closed position.

It is apparent that the color and texture of a portion of the contents of the container will be visible through the viewing aperture I I5 in the outer envelope and the transparent material of the inner envelope I'I.

When the container is opened for removal of a portion of its contents the tongue In is withdrawn from the slit I5 and the flap I2 is swung upwardly to the position shown in Fig. 3 or therebeyond. The folded portion is obviously swung upwardly with the flap I2 and the open edge of the inner envelope I1 is hence made available for access to the interior of the inner envelope.

If desired the container may. be repeatedly closed and opened and each time it is closed the folding of the innerienvelope H at the sealing edge along the line c will be effective to produce a substantially air tight seal to protect the contents against dirt or dust and against gain or loss in moisture content.

It is obvious that the folded arrangement of the end flaps I! will permit the distance between the front II and the back III to vary in accordance with the amount of tobacco contained in our container and thus at all times permit our container to occupy a minimum amount of space. Also, since the upper edge portion of the inner envelope I I is secured to the flap I 2, only at the medial portion of one side thereof so as to permit the upper end of the inner envelope to be opened to a substantially oval shape,'a pipe may be conveniently dipped into the contained tobacco for filling without danger of tearing or otherwise damaging the container. a

While our container is particularly adapted for use as a container in which tobacco may be sold and in which tobacco may be carried by the user thereof, it is apparent that it is also well adapted for use as a container for many other kinds of materials.

Obviously the inner envelope may be formed of non-transparent material which is so treated as to become transparent in the portion thereof registering with the viewing aperture in the outer envelope. Also, the viewing portion of the outer envelope may be formed by treating that portion to make the same transparent instead of forming an aperture in that portion.

It is apparentthat we have invented a novel, compact, simple and inexpensive form of container for tobacco and the like from which a pipe may be conveniently filled and which includes 'means for displaying the color and texture of the contents thereof without opening the same, means for repeatedly opening and closing the same with great conveniencaand means for effectively sealing the same when closed.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, proportions and arrangement-of the parts without departing from the scope of our invention, which, generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth and in the novel parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A container of the class described comprising an envelope having an extended open ended portion and constructed of thin flexible material, a member having a portion folded upon itself to form a thicker sealing edge disposed below the upper end of said envelope about the folded edge of which said extended portion may be folded to effect sealing of said envelope and means for retaining the folded portion of said envelope in closed position.

2. A container of the class described comprising an inner envelope constructed of thin flexible material disposed within an outer envelope, said outer envelope including a front and a back joined along their lower edges, a swingable closure flap extending outwardly from the free edge of one of said members, the other of said members having a straight sealing edge opposite said closure flap, and said inner envelope extending outwardly beyond said sealing edge and having an open outer end whereby swinging of said closure flap to its closed position will result in the outer portion of said inner envelope being folded over said sealing edge to effect the sealing of said inner envelope.

3. A tobacco container comprising an inner envelope disposed within an outer envelope, said outer envelope including a front member and a back member, a swingable closure flap extending outwardly from the free edge of one of said members and a narrow flap extending from the free edge of the other of said members, said narrow flap being reversely folded to form a sealing edge at the fold therein, said inner envelope extending outwardly beyond said sealing edge and having an open outer end, the medial portion of the upper edge of the side of said inner envelope adjacent said closure flap being secured to said closure flap whereby swinging of said closure flap to its closing position will cause the outer portion of said inner envelope to be folded over said seal- 55 ing edge and swinging of said closure flap to its open position will swing the outer portion of said inner envelope to its unfolded position.

4. A tobacco container comprising an inner envelope disposed within an outer envelope, said outer envelope including a front member and a back member joined along their lower edges, a swingable closure flap extending outwardly from the free edge of one of said members and a. narrow flap extending from the free edge of the other wardly beyond saidsealing edge and having, an' op'en outerend whereby swinging of said closure Hiflap-tc its closing position will result in the outer portion of said inner envelope being folded over said iolding edge to eil'ect sealing of said inner nv lop v 5. A tobacco container comprising an inner envelopedisposed within an outer envelope,. said outerenv'elope including a front member and a bach .niemb'er integrally connected along their lower edges and connected at corresponding side edges by: means of multiply folded elements whereby the distancebetween the respective medial andupper portions of said outer envelope may be varied, a swingable closure flap extending outwardly from the free edge of one of said members and a narrow flap extending from the free edge of the other of said members, said narrow flap being reversely folded to form a sealing edge at the fold therein, and said inner envelope extending outwardly beyond said sealing edge and having an open outer end whereby swinging of sawsaid closure flap to-its closing position will result in the outer portion .of said inner envelope being folded over said folding edge to efiect closure of said inner envelope.

6. A tobacco container comprising aninner envelope disposed within an outer envelope, said outer envelope including a front member and a back member integrally connected along their lower-edges and connected at corresponding side edges by means of multiply folded elements 10 whereby the distance between the respective medial andupper portions of said outer envelope may be varied, means for securing said inner envelope to the inner side of one of said members, a swin'gable closure flap extending outwardly '1 from the free edge of one of said members, the other of said members having a straight sealing edge opposite said closure flap and said inner en- I 

